The Forming of Opinion. B. Binoche, Religion privée, opinion publique
Résumé
When, and in what historical and conceptual context, did the notion of public opinion make an appearance? What theoretical role has it taken on? Can it be considered a concept, or is it among those words that are if not empty then at least ambivalent and volatile, and whose unmasking is incumbent upon philosophy? The theory behind Religion privée, opinion publique [ " Private Religion, Public Opinion " ] consists in establishing a causal link between the two terms that make up its title. According to Bertrand Binoche, the idea of public opinion constitutes the effect of the idea of private religion: it emerged, in the second half of the 18th century, not as a result or by accident, but essentially as its consequence. That consequence, while not necessary, is nonetheless logical: as soon as religion became a private affair and ceased to constitute the agreement that had long been seen as a requisite for constituting the civil link, and as soon as any substitute agreement (natural religion, natural morality) revealed its futility at the same time, only the theoretical and highly paradoxical solution remained, which consisted in basing society on the idea of disagreement governed by opinions in a state of perpetual evolution. The author thus tries to retrace the emergence of the concept of public opinion, its transformation into a " key term " (p. 126) and its gradual dissolution, from the wars of religion up to the second half of the 19 th.
Reviewed: Bertrand Binoche, Religion privée, opinion publique [“Private Religion, Public
Opinion”], Paris, Vrin, “Moments philosophiques” [“Philosophical Moments”] collection,
2012, 232 pp., €12.50.
Domaines
Philosophie
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)